Founded in 1953, Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co., Inc. grew into a major financial institution in the Pacific Northwest. The company's primary business model involved raising capital by selling uninsured securities, such as debentures (unsecured notes) and preferred stock, directly to thousands of individual investors, many of whom were elderly. This capital was then used to fund a variety of higher-risk ventures, including commercial real estate loans, property development, and life insurance policy financing through its subsidiary, Summit Securities. The company's aggressive expansion and reliance on funding from new investors to pay existing ones led to its eventual collapse, which was one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in Washington state history.

Founded in

United States